Reference

CRP & native prairie seed glossary

Plain-language definitions of the CRP program, practice codes, seed terminology, and prairie ecology terms landowners encounter when ordering native seed.

By Clarity Seed Farms EditorialLast updated July 18, 2026

Program

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a USDA program that pays landowners an annual rental payment to convert environmentally sensitive cropland to permanent vegetative cover, typically native prairie grasses and forbs. Contracts run 10 to 15 years and are administered by the Farm Service Agency with technical support from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the USDA agency that provides technical assistance for CRP conservation plans, EQIP contracts, and CSP enhancements. NRCS field offices approve species lists, seeding rates, and planting methods for each practice code and confirm compliance during establishment and mid-contract management.
Farm Service Agency (FSA): The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is the USDA agency that administers CRP contracts, general sign-ups, and rental payments. FSA county offices handle enrollment, acreage certification, and payment processing. Landowners work with FSA for contract paperwork and with NRCS for the conservation plan and technical specifications.
EQIP: The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a USDA cost-share program administered by NRCS that helps landowners install conservation practices, including pollinator plantings and monarch habitat enhancements. EQIP payments often stack with CRP rental payments and can cover 50 to 90 percent of native seed and establishment costs.
CSP: The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a USDA program that pays landowners for ongoing conservation activities and enhancements on working lands. CSP pollinator, grassland bird, and monarch enhancements often supplement CRP contracts by funding higher-diversity mixes and additional mid-contract management like prescribed burning.

Practice

CP2 — Permanent native grasses: CP2 is a CRP practice code for permanent native grass plantings. It typically uses two to four warm-season grasses such as big bluestem, Indiangrass, or switchgrass, with little or no forb component. CP2 provides erosion control and general wildlife habitat at lower establishment cost than diverse prairie or pollinator practices.
CP25 — Rare and declining habitat: CP25 is a CRP practice requiring a diverse tallgrass prairie reconstruction with 30 grass seeds per square foot plus 10 forb seeds per square foot. Mixes contain 15 to 30 species. CP25 delivers strong wildlife value for grassland birds and carries a rare-and-declining habitat rental incentive above the base CRP rate.
CP42 — Pollinator habitat: CP42 is the CRP pollinator habitat practice. It requires 40 or more forb species delivering staggered bloom from spring through fall, plus 20 to 35 percent native grass for nesting cover. Seeding rates run 20 to 40 PLS pounds per acre. CP42 carries the strongest pollinator incentive payments in the CRP catalog.
CP21 — Filter strip: CP21 is the CRP filter strip practice, a permanent vegetated buffer along cropland drainage that traps sediment, nutrients, and pesticides before they reach surface water. Strips are typically 30 to 120 feet wide and planted to native warm-season grasses such as switchgrass or big bluestem for dense, upright cover.
CP33 — Bobwhite quail buffer: CP33 is a CRP continuous-signup practice creating bobwhite quail habitat along cropland field edges. Buffers are 30 to 120 feet wide and planted to short native grasses like little bluestem and sideoats grama with a modest forb component. CP33 targets brood-rearing insects and winter cover for northern bobwhite quail.
CP43 — Prairie strips: CP43 is a CRP practice for prairie strips: narrow bands of diverse native prairie planted within or around row-crop fields. Strips make up roughly 10 percent of a field and dramatically reduce sediment runoff while providing pollinator and grassland bird habitat. CP43 was developed from Iowa State University STRIPS research.

Seed

Pure Live Seed (PLS): Pure Live Seed (PLS) is the percentage of seed in a bag that is both pure and viable. It equals seed purity multiplied by germination rate. CRP seeding rates are always specified in PLS pounds per acre, not bulk pounds. A 50-pound bag testing 92% purity and 85% germination delivers 39.1 PLS pounds.
Cold stratification: Cold stratification is a period of cold, moist conditions that breaks seed dormancy in many native prairie forbs. Species like purple coneflower, prairie blazing star, and butterfly milkweed germinate poorly without it. Dormant fall seeding provides natural stratification in place; spring seeding of stratified seed requires artificial pre-treatment.
Ecotype: An ecotype is a genetically distinct population of a native species adapted to a specific region or climate. Iowa-ecotype big bluestem, for example, is sourced from remnant Iowa prairies. Many state grant programs and NRCS enhancements require local ecotype seed for CRP plantings to preserve regional genetic diversity.
Seeds per square foot: Seeds per square foot is the CRP mix design metric used in place of bulk pounds. CP25, for example, requires 30 grass seeds plus 10 forb seeds per square foot. Because species vary from 70,000 to 400,000 seeds per pound, seeds per square foot ensures a consistent stand regardless of the species chosen.

Establishment

Dormant seeding: Dormant seeding is planting native prairie seed after soils cool below 50 degrees Fahrenheit but before spring green-up, typically late October through early March in the Midwest. Cold, moist winter conditions naturally stratify cold-requiring forbs and improve first-year germination by 20 to 40 percent over spring seeding.
Frost seeding: Frost seeding is broadcasting seed onto frozen ground or thin snow cover in December through February. Freeze-thaw cycles work seed into the top quarter-inch of soil. Frost seeding is most reliable in northern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas where snow cover is consistent and freeze-thaw action is aggressive.
Mid-contract management: Mid-contract management (MCM) is required maintenance on CRP acres — typically a prescribed burn, high mow, disking, or interseeding conducted between years three and seven of a 10-year contract. MCM keeps stands vigorous, suppresses cool-season invaders, and stimulates forb regeneration. NRCS approves the specific method for each contract.
Prescribed burn: A prescribed burn is a planned, controlled fire used to manage prairie stands on a three-to-five-year rotation. Late-spring burns in April through early May stimulate warm-season grass tillering, suppress cool-season invaders, and recycle nutrients. Prescribed burns are one of the most common approved mid-contract management activities on CRP acres.
Native seed drill: A native seed drill is a specialized planting drill with two or three seed boxes — one for smooth seed, one for chaffy fluffy seed like big bluestem, and often a small-seed box for forbs. Standard grain drills cannot plant chaffy native seed reliably. Rental drills are available through many county conservation districts.
Cultipacker: A cultipacker is a heavy rolling implement that firms the seedbed before and after broadcast native seed plantings. Firming establishes good seed-to-soil contact for tiny native seeds that must be planted no deeper than one-quarter inch. A properly cultipacked seedbed leaves a boot print no deeper than one-quarter inch.

Ecology

Warm-season grass: A warm-season grass uses C4 photosynthesis and does most of its growth in June through September when soils are above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass, and switchgrass are the dominant warm-season grasses of the North American tallgrass prairie and the backbone of most CRP mixes.
Cool-season grass: A cool-season grass uses C3 photosynthesis and grows most actively in spring and fall when soils are 40 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Smooth brome, Kentucky bluegrass, and tall fescue are common non-native cool-season grasses that must be killed before planting a native warm-season CRP mix to prevent competition.
Forb: A forb is a non-grass, non-woody flowering plant native to the prairie — species like purple coneflower, butterfly milkweed, black-eyed Susan, and prairie blazing star. Forbs provide pollinator nectar, monarch host tissue, and songbird seed. CRP practices CP25 and CP42 both require forbs; CP2 typically does not.
Mesic: Mesic describes a site with moderate, well-balanced soil moisture — neither drought-prone nor waterlogged. Most Midwestern silt loam and loam soils are mesic. Mesic prairie mixes typically feature big bluestem, Indiangrass, purple coneflower, and prairie blazing star as their signature species and are the most widely planted CRP category.
Hydric soil: A hydric soil is saturated, ponded, or flooded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper layers. Hydric sites support wet-prairie mixes with species like prairie cordgrass, swamp milkweed, and blue vervain, and are commonly enrolled in CP23 wetland restoration.
Pollinator: A pollinator is an insect, bird, or other animal that transfers pollen between flowers, enabling plant reproduction. Native bees, monarch butterflies, honey bees, and hummingbirds are the primary pollinators supported by CP42 and CP43 CRP plantings. Diverse forb mixes with staggered bloom periods provide season-long pollinator forage.
Monarch waystation: A monarch waystation is a habitat planting providing milkweed for monarch larvae and diverse nectar sources for migrating adults. Waystations require at least two milkweed species and a variety of native forbs blooming from spring through fall. Most quality CP42 mixes and dedicated monarch mixes qualify as certified waystations.

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